Typographical casting machine



Dec. 22

5. SMITH TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACHINE Filed March 21. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 mznik.

8. SMITH TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACHINE 7 Dec. 22, 1925- 1,566,288

Filed March 21. 1924' 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inve R2010 Dec. 22, 1925 5. SMITH TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACHINE Filed March 21. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 .Ill ll-l.

.IIIPII el ll. II ILII lli FIIIIIII'II'L S. SMITH TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACHINE 4 Shee ts-Sheet I 4 Filed March 21 1924 w aw em s N a m wk Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

SAMUEL SMITH,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF] BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO MERGENTHALER LINU- TYPE COMPANY, CORPORATION OF NEIV YORK.

TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACHINE.

I Application filed March 21, 1924. Serial No. 700,776.

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that .I, SAMUEL SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Typographical Casting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invent-ion. relates to typographical machines, such as linotype machine of the general organization represented in-U. S5 Letters Patent to O. Mergenthaler, No. 436,532, wherein circulating matrices-"are released from a magazine in the order in which they are to-appear in print and then assembled in line, the: composed line transferred to'the face of a mold, the. mold filled with molten metal to form a slu Jor linotype against. the matrices which proc uce the type characters thereon, and the matrices thereafter returned through a distributingjmechanism; tothe magazine from which they started.

The standard machines now in general use are constructed and designed forv the production of slugs not exceeding ems. in length. For certain classes of work, however, as in the case of catalogues, periodicals, magazines, etc., which employtype lines of much greater length, it is necessary to cast different parts of the in.- dividualtype lines on: separate slugs and:

' use the latter end to end in abutting: rela tion. Such slugs areordinarily cast of equal length and consequently, when assembled inthe printing form, the joints between: the abutting slugs in the successive lines coincide with each other and produce an objectionable line or streak in the printed matter. i

The present invention is intended to meet the foregoing objection and contemplates certain improvements in the standard machine to adapt it automatically to cast the separate slugs of unequal length and in such order that, when assembled in the printingv form, the joints between. the slugs in the successive lines will be displaced oroilset:

with relation to each other, thereby avoidiing the objectionable line or' streak before mentioned. In carrying out the invention, specifically, the machine is equipped with two pairs, of molds, the molds of one pair having slots of one length, and the molds of the other pairhaving slotsof another length, and means are provided whereby the molds are brought successively into action, first those of one pair and then thoseof the other pair, alternately. The exact manner in which this is carried out will. best be understood from the detailed description to follow.

,Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevat'on, partly'broken away, of a portion of a linotype machine equipped with the present improvements;

Fig.2 is av detail elevation; of. a portion ofthev moldwheel. driving cam, taken; in: the direction of. the arrow in Fig. 1";

Fig, 3is -a view, taken-fromthe front of. the machine, showing the mold wheel and: the proposed arrangement of the molds car riedthereby; Y

Fig. 4 is a four positions of the mold wheelland: the sequence in which the slugs are cast;

Fig. 5 is a detail, showing a' portion. of agalley and the order in which the slugs. are delivered thereto after casting and' Fig. 6 shows anumber'of slugs or linotypes and the relative-position: they assume in the printing form.

The matrices X andspacers Y are composed in line: inthe assembler elevator A in Aiter composition" the usual way (Fig.

diagrammatic view, showing.

of the line, the elevator is manuallylifted.

and the line transferred through the"i11'ter-- for distribution, and the mold wheel D is turned to locate the mold in the ejecting position. The slug is then acted upon by an ejector blade, which pushes it forwardly from the mold through suitable trimming knives and into the galley E 5).

The actuating mechanism for the mold wheel (see Fig. 1) comprises, as usual, a horizontal shaft D journalled in the framework and provided at its forward end with a pinion D meshingwith the peripheral teeth of the mold wheel. As well known, this pinion D can be disengaged at will from the shaft D and rotated independently to change the relation of the mold wheel to its actuating mechanism in order to carry any selected mold into active position. The shaft D is also provided at its rear end with a spur gear D in constant mesh with an idler D*, which latter is arranged to be periodically engaged by segmental gears or racks, fastened to a rotary wheel G on the main drive shaft H of the machine.

The foregoing parts, their construction and mode of operation are or may be the same as embodied in the commercial linotype machine. As before stated, the present invention aims to adapt the machine automatically to cast slugs in pairs of different length and in such order that the joint between the abutting slugs of each printing line will stand out of alignment with the joints between the abutting slugs in the adjacent printing lines. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the mold wheel D is provided with four distinct molds of usual form, designated 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively, (Figs. 3 and 4.), the molds l and 4 (constituting one pair) being alike and having slots of the longer length, and the -molds 2 and 3 (constituting a second pair) also being alike and having slots of the shorter length.

Heretofore, in the normal operation of the machine, the mold wheel is first given a quarter rotation in an anti-clockwise direction, in orderto move the active mold or the one in use from the ejecting position to the casting position, and, later, a three-quarter rotation in the same direction to restore the mold to its original or ejecting position. In carrying out the present invention, however, the first quarter turn of the mold wheel is eliminated and only a three-quarter turn imparted thereto at each cycle of operation of the machine, so that the active mold is the one which is located in the casting position at the beginning of each opera tion. To provide for this change in the action of the mold wheel, the customary short segmental rack G shown detached in Fig. 1, is removed from the wheel G and a blank filling piece C substituted therefor. This filling piece G (Fig. 2) is arranged flush with the inner face of the wheel G, in

order that a continuous or unbroken surface may be presented to the squared end (indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l) of the idler D and thereby hold the disk in its adjusted positions. The customary longer rack G which is also fastened to the wheel G, is retained and functions, as before, to turn the mold wheel three-quarters of a rotation at each machine cycle, so that the mold in use will be transferred from the casting to the ejecting position after the slug has been cast.

It will now be seen that, as the parts are so arranged, the mold wheel will he automatically adjusted to four different positions in as many cycles of operation of the machine, the main drive shaft H making one complete rotation at each cycle, as usual. The molds are thus brought into action, one after another in succession, and the length of the mold slots thereby changed after every other casting operation except the first. This is illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 4, which shows the mold wheel in its four different positions. By referring also to Figs. 5 and 6, the order in which the slugs are cast may be readily understood, it being assumed that the machine has been set to start off with the mold wheel occupying position A.

The first slug 1", a long one, is cast from the long mold 1, which is the active mold in position A. The second slug 2, a short one, is cast from the short mold 2 shown in position B. The third slug 3*, a short one also, is cast from mold 3, shown in action in position C, and which is a duplicate of mold 2. The fourth slug P, a long one, is cast from mold 4:, shown in action in position D, and which is a duplicate of mold 1. At the next operation, the mold 1 will be active again as in position A, and the same sequence kept up in succeeding operations. Thus, as the operation proceeds in this manner, slugs are produced in the order de-' sired; that is to say, after the first slug is cast, whether it be a short or a long one, those that succeed will be cast in alternate pairs of different lengths, first two of one length, and then two of another length, and so on throughout the series. Referring again to Fig. 6, it will be seen that when the slugs produced in this manner are arranged end. to end in the printing form, the line of juncture is not at all discernible in the finished copy, but is completely broken up or diffused.

Since, according to the present invention, the mold disk is provided with. two long and two short molds, the matrix lines which are presented thereto should vary in length to correspond. This may be conveniently accomplished by the use of a spacer or quad M (Fig. 1-) which is of a thickness equal to the difference in length of the mold slots in the respectisieo seam-see short matrix linehsataithe 1castngrpositi0i1 ing to the slight difference in betwteerfiithev usual jlviseaijfawsytwhinlr latter are set to receive the longer lines; takesiplace infitheif malnlii'lliiequrred. The same effect could be produced by altering the adjustment of the vise jaws and the assembler slide stop at the required times, butit is preferred to make use of the quad just described, ow-

mold slots.

The invention has been shown only in preferred form and by way of example and as applied to the standard linotype machine, but obviously many modifications and alterations therein and in its mode of adaptation will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departure from its scope;

the invention might be carried out by the use of less than four molds; in fact, it would be possible to use only one mold, as by employing an automatically adjustable liner to change the length of the mold slot. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment except in so far as ,such limitations are set forth in the following claims. I

Having thus described my invention, its construction and mode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. In a slug casting machine, the combination of casting mechanism adjustable to vary the length of the cast slug, and automatic means for effecting such adjustment of the casting mechanism after every other casting operation.

2. In a slug casting machine, the combination of casting mechanism adjustable to vary the length of the cast slug, and means actuated during the normal operation of the machine for effecting such adjustment of the casting mechanism after every other casting operation.

3. In a slug casting machine, the combi nation of a plurality of molds having slots of different length, and automatic means for effecting a change of mold slots after every other casting operation.

41. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a plurality of molds having slots of different length, and means actuated during the normal operation of the machine for effecting a change of mold slots after every other casting operation. I

In a slug casting machine, the combi nation of a plurality of molds having slots of different length, an adjustable carrier whereon the molds are mounted, and automatic means for adjusting the carrier to For example,

effectsa'rz'changeeofi moldssl t length of the (2th astinggoperation.

shag; casting machine he; cornbrnxo ztwocpai rszof n1ol ;l's, -r those:- of lone 'airahavingcmold .slot fione'oleirgtlf, and

I ;havinggmdldzslotsi of rthoseiof theiiotlrenipair ensiotherilengtthgairdameans actuated; .cyclenf; opeiartidniof th'ei machine for ingstlfelimoldsf'siicoessivet gdfitoihction, those of one pair and then those ofthe other pair, alternately.

7. In a slug casting machine,

the combination of a rotatable disc equipped with two pairs of molds, those of one pair having mold slots of one length, and those of the other pair having mold slots of another length, and means for rotating said disc after each casting operation to bring the molds successively into action, first those of one pair and then those of the other pair, alternately.

8. In a slug casting machine, the combination of four distinct molds arranged in a definite order, and means actuated at each cycle of operation of the machine for bringing the molds successively into action in the order of their arrangement.

9 In a slug casting machine, the combination of a rotatable disc equipped with four distinct molds arranged thereon at 90 apart, and means for imparting a threequarter rotation only to said disc after each casting operation so as to bring the molds successively into action, for the purpose described.

10. A combination as specified in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the automatic means therein recited may be caused to effect the adjustment of the casting mechanism after a single casting operation before becoming operative to effect such adjustment after every other casting operation.

11. A combination as specified in claim 3, characterized by the fact that the mold slot changing means therein recited may be caused to effect a change of mold-slots after a single casting operation before becoming operative to effect such change after every other casting operation.

12. In a slug casting machine, the combi-- nation of a plurality of molds, and means actuated after each casting operation for 10- cating a different mold in casting position and simultaneously locating a previously used mold in ejecting position.

13. In a slug casting machine, the combination of means for composing matrix lines of different length, first two of one length and then two of another length, alternately, casting mechanism adjustable to vary the length of the mold slot to correspond with the length of the composed matrix line, and automatic means for effecting such adjustment of the casting mechanism at the required times.

14-. In a slug casting machine, the combi nation of means for composing matrix lines of different length, first tWo of one length and then two of another length, alternately, two pairs of molds having mold slots of different length in the respective pairs to correspond With the varying lengths of the composed matrix lines, and means actuated at each cycle of operation of the machine for bringing the molds successively into action. 10

15. A combination as specified in claim 13, characterized by the fact that the matrix lines are varied in length by the use or nonuse of a quad or filling piece composed in the line With the matrices.

In testimony whereof, I have affiXed my signature hereto.

SAMUEL SMITH. 

